Leeds United's Elland Road home is one of the most iconic sporting arenas in Britain, yet it started life as a desolate patch of land surrounded by coalfields. The Only Place For Us pulls together the never-before-told history of the developing stadium and its changing local environment, revealing the background stories behind Elland Road's most famous features and characters, and the astonishing events it has witnessed. Along the way there have been fires, gypsy curses, and a host of cherished memories including the diamond floodlights, the West Stand facade, and escapee pantomime horses. Using archive research and insiders' insights, fascinating photographs, and fans' memories, Jon Howe retraces an intriguing historical journey to show how Elland Road became one of Europe's most feared soccer grounds. Through triumph and adversity, neglect, and redevelopment, Elland Road has emerged as a fine, modern stadium that's alive with history. This is its unique story.

The Only Place For Us: An A-Z History of Elland Road - Home of Leeds United

History

Howe, Jon

Europe

Pitch Publishing

As a former county player, Andrew Murtagh is often asked, "who is the best batsman he has ever played with or against?" His answer is always unequivocal—"Richards." And then comes the inevitable rider—"Barry, that is, not Viv." It is a travesty that the cricket world has largely forgotten Barry Richards—a cricketing genius. Debuting for South Africa in 1970, his run-scoring, technique, and audacious, extravagant strokeplay took the breath away. A glittering international career beckoned. However, the apartheid storm burst, and Richards had played his first and last Test series. Consigned to plying his trade for Hampshire, Natal, and South Australia, Richards became increasingly frustrated and disenchanted with the game he had loved. Following retirement, personal tragedy, and professional controversy continued to stalk him, though he has now come to an uneasy acceptance that he will be forever known as the genius lost to Test cricket.

Sundial in the Shade: The Story of Barry Richards: the Genius Lost to Test Cricket

Murtagh, Andrew

Biographies & Memoirs

As the world's second most popular sport, cricket is much richer and more diverse than many realize. Globally, passionate players give up holidays, time with loved ones, and hard-earned money to achieve the extraordinary and play for their country. Afghanistan, whose captain grew up on a refugee camp, will play in the 2015 World Cup not just in spite of the Taliban, but partly because of them. In Ireland, cricket has reawakened after a century of dormancy—but can they achieve their aim of Test cricket and end the player drain to England? These tales resonate far beyond cricket, touching on war, sectarianism, and even women's rights. This book explains why an Emirati faced Allan Donald armed only with a sun hat; whether cricket will succeed in China and America; what happened when Kenya reached the World Cup semi-finals; and how cricket in the Netherlands almost collapsed after two bad days.

Second XI: Cricket In Its Outposts

Sports & Outdoors

Brooks, Tim

MILLER, PETER

Wigmore, Tim

Haigh, Gideon

Dutta, Sahil

Miscellaneous

Written by a former publicist and friend of Ali's, an original analysis of one of the sports world's greatest superstars This book is for all Ali fans. It's been more than 30 years since Muhammad Ali last threw a punch, yet he remains unquestionably the best-known athlete of all time. A whole generation now only know the legend of The Greatest, never saw him fight, and yet are in awe of the man and his fantastic fistic feats. The Ali Files gives the facts behind the fable. Author Norman Giller became friends with Ali when he worked as his European publicist, and he has gathered many other intimate eyewitnesses—opponents, referees, trainers, sparring partners, celebrity fans, and ringside reporters—to Ali’s astonishing adventures in and out of the ring. Millions of words have been written about ringmaster Ali, but few books have concentrated on the 61 professional contests that turned him into a sporting legend. The Ali Files will give you a ringside seat to the greatest boxing career of all time.

The Ali Files: His Fights, His Foes, His Fees, His Feats, His Fate

Giller, Norman

The definitive guide to the rise of women's soccer, and how it slowly but surely stepped out of the shadow of its male counterpart How did women finally battle back against gender inequality within the soccer? From long-term stadium exiles to having an entire nation behind Team GB at London 2012, this book reveals exactly how women’s soccer slowly dragged itself become the much-loved and well-respected game we know today. Increased knowledge, improved funding, and media coverage have all contributed to the rapid rise in its popularity while the FA WSL—the Football Association Women’s Super League—is an initiative that proves women’s soccer is now being taken extremely seriously. With the help of expert insight, sports columnist Liam Newman shows just how far the sport has progressed in recent times while additionally looking ahead to a particularly bright future for women’s football.

Soccer in Stilettos: Tackling Gender Inequality On and Off the Pitch

Politics & Social Sciences

Newman, Liam

Social Sciences

Stoke City legend Terry Conroy lifts the lid on how the great Potters side of the early 1970s took on the giants of the day in epic encounters, and often won. How they almost won the league, and proved worthy opponents of Europe's finest; and how the fans' favorite ginger winger scored one and created the other goal in Stoke's first major trophy win at Wembley. Terry's tales take in Hudson, Greenhoff, Banks, Best, Charlton, and Redknapp. He talks about his rollercoaster international career with the Republic of Ireland, both as player and as assistant—and also reveals the cost of playing with cortisone injections, the impact of a drinking culture on the club's potential success, and how he won his own personal battles. A fabulous story of a life lived to the full—a delight for all Stoke City fans, lovers of 1970s culture, and soccer supporters in general.

You Don't Remember Me, Do You?: The Autobiography of Terry Conroy

Conroy, Terry

<div>From Ricky Villa to Dave Beasant is the third and final installment in Matthew Eastley's Cup Final series. It tells the story of the 1980s, when it wasn't just the giants of the game who enjoyed Cup success, but also clubs such as West Ham, Coventry City, and Wimbledon. It tells the stories of Wembley heroes--Houchen, Sanchez, Brooking--recounts great performances and recalls the joy of first-time finalists such as QPR and Watford. But most important are the amazing first-hand stories of the fans inside Wembley. Who were they, and how do they look back on those halcyon days? Here are gripping tales of soccer, social change, love, and kinship--all played out against a backdrop of pop music, films, and contemporary news. For this was the decade which saw an ominous increase in live televised football, and ended in tragedy at an FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough.</div>

The Glory of the FA Cup: When the FA Cup Really Mattered Volume 3 - The 1980s

Eastley, Matt

Soccer

Who scored the 5000th international century? Which New Zealand Test captain married a Miss Universe? And which Test cricketer's son was placed on Interpol's most-wanted list? From the beginnings of the game to the present day, Inside Edge delivers a treasure trove of global cricketing curiosities. Immerse yourself in the magic that is cricket with a panoply of wildly unusual feats on the field, and just as many eyebrow-raising incidents after the close of play. From the brother-and-sister twins who played for Australia to the 14-year-old schoolboy who scored 500 in a match in India, Marc Dawson serves up facts, feats and figures destined to delight all followers of this amazing game. With 20 subject areas including Twenty20 cricket, cricket and politics, music and cinema and cricket in wartime, Inside Edge features an array of esoteric, previously unpublished photographs, famous scorecards, quirky quotations, and statistical tables.

Inside Edge: Another Eclectic Collection of Cricketing Facts, Feats and Figures

Dawson, Marc

Reference

Benjamin Calder-Smith traveled around the UK for 18 months meeting and interviewing a broad cross-section of former fighters and boxing personalities. He now presents the stories of huge forgotten talents, coulda-been contenders, and men who established a foothold in British boxing history, highlighting the highs and lows of their careers in and out of the ring. From the agonies of injury and enforced retirement to a poignant late comeback inspired by personal tragedy; from a British Boxing Board of Control-licensed ringside doctor to a late-blossoming veteran of the ring, Ungloved features unique, varied, and personal accounts of the "noble art" from a bygone age. Memories are relayed with the same passion as was expended in the ring, describing the good, the bad, and the ugly with brutal honesty and heart-warming humility. These moving accounts provide living proof that, when knocked down, the human spirit has infinite capacity to bounce back.

Ungloved: Memories from the Ring

Calder-Smith, Benjamin

Individual Sports

Peter Bills has spent the past 40 years writing about rugby for newspapers in Britain and around the world. He now shares his extraordinary experiences from a career blessed with an indecent amount of fun, unleashing a barrage of anecdotes and lifting the lid on the hidden world of sports writing—on the characters, stars, and their amazing stories. As a leading freelance writer, Peter learned the wiliest tricks of his trade. Whether conning French police, dashing between airports, or collecting crazy interviews, his life has been an incredible series of escapades. The 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s were the halcyon days of sports journalism, when reporters could rove worldwide with a typewriter and a license to set the sporting agenda. Peter Bills has been an ever-present observer throughout rugby's greatest era, collaborating on the autobiographies of many of its greatest stars. His own behind-the-scenes memoir is informative, irreverent, and hugely entertaining.

Four Hundred Words at Five-Thirty with 'Nannies': Inside the Lost World of Sports Journalism

Bills, Peter

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Pitch Publishing publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Pitch Publishing